'Cancelling event was a hard decision but it was right'

The owner of a sold-out outdoor Halloween attraction has said having to cancel two nights due to bad weather was "hardest decision".

Barbara Ikim runs Halloweenville, based at Partridge Lakes in Warrington, which has been running since 2 October, but amid deteriorating weather decided to call off Friday and Saturday night's events.

Storm Austen, which brought heavy rain and strong winds on Friday had led to a number of trees at the venue falling, with Storm Boelo expected to cause further upset.

"Even though when I made the announcement today it looked calm, I just couldn't take that risk," she said.

"Knowing the forecast, and that a massive tree had fallen over, it was that eye-opening moment of nothing is going to be worth that happening."

She also said as a mum of two, and putting herself in other parents shoes facing weather warnings for wind and heading to the woodlands with children she said she asked herself "would I be excited or would I be terrified?"

But as the event was fully booked until it closes on 1 November, she had to refund tickets.

She said it made the decision more difficult because "there's going to be a lot of really disappointed kids that can't come now".

"It's by far the hardest and worst decision of the whole event - the creating and the concept actually seems easier compared to having to actually call it off," she added.

"We've learned over the years to really secure it even just from the beginning, we have got everything strapped pegged and prepared for an outdoor event in October, so we are more prepared than we ever have been.

But still, the team spent about four hours securing the site and laying down barriers on Saturday.

She said for her business, storms were "very stressful".

"They can cause a lot of sleepless nights, but it's just part of the parcel of running outdoor events," she added.

In an update on the events social media feed, Barbara told followers how the site had lost power on Saturday.

She said how the team would make this decision "100 times over" when children's safety was at risk.

"The forecast was not wrong, this storm would have been so dangerous tonight, and completely terrifying for everyone involved to be under trees and near a lake," she added.

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